I know a few guys who have them. Your assessment is correct.
These days, $30 is two meals at McDonalds…so it’s hard to think you could go wrong. Let us know what happens.
The Ham Radio hobby can get boring at least to me, calling CQ or checking in on a Net it not really my thing, but hacking a cheap handheld to expand the features is more of what I’m interested in, at this price, what’s the harm if the device doesn’t last over the long term.